The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Thursday in federal court in Texas saying that the new law banning most abortions is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit asked that a judge recognize the law as invalid.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the long-standing Supreme Court precedent shows the law is unconstitutional.
The law is known as SB8 and makes it unlawful to have an abortion once a heartbeat can be detected, which is around 6 weeks. There are no special considerations for incest or rape.
While other states have been unsuccessful at passing similar laws, Texas was able to by allowing private citizens to bring civil lawsuits to court, not criminal prosecutors.
Anyone could bring a lawsuit to court even if they have no connection to the woman getting an abortion and be entitled to at least $10,000 in damages.
Garland, who helped file the lawsuit against the state of Texas, says this deputizes private citizens and allows them to act as bounty hunters against the women who are having their constitutional rights violated.
Neighboring states have said their abortion clinics are seeing an increase in patients from Texas.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].